TIOL- DDT 7
09 12 2004
Thursday

Thought @ the speed of government

THE first thing a newly promoted Superintendent does is buy a green ink pen, for Superintendents being gazetted officers are authorised to sign in green! By whom? When? Nobody knows. If an Inspector signs in green, it is blasphemy. But does the Government have any rules on who should sign in what colour?

This colour scheme raised quite a controversy some time back.

Two officers in the Ministry of Steel caused an administrative storm when they wrote in an official document in red and green ink. Steel production could be stopped but it had to be urgently confirmed whether red ink could be used in official files. So they consulted the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances:

"Can officers use inks other than blue or black?... Are there Guidelines on the question? If so, could these be forwarded to the undersigned..."

This department had no ready answer and so it took them 18 months to solve the problem as they had to consult

1. the Directorate of Printing (experts on ink),
2. the Department of Personnel and Training (experts on rules),
3. the National Archives of India (experts on longevity) and
4. the Ministry of Defence (experts on hierarchy).

After more than a year of fitting consultations, the Manual of Office Procedure was amended to give the privilege of using green or red ink only to officers of the level of Joint Secretary to the government and above. The studied advice of the Archives that the inks used must have had the approval of the Bureau of Indian Standards strangely did not find mention in the newly inserted clause!

Interesting? This is what former journalist and former minister discovered during his stint in Government as a minister. What does a former journalist do when he becomes a former minister? Obviously do the thing he is best at. And Shourie has come up with what he is best at - writing.

His new book Governance And The Sclerosis That Has Set In has many such anecdotes.

Here's another sample:-

ITDC had eight hotels in New Delhi. But not one of them had the title deed or lease documents in order, or the Completion Certificate for their buildings, or even the mandatory Certificate from the fire authorities.

On the ITDC Ashok Hotel property, four hundred yards from the Prime Minister's residence, 347 quarters had been constructed illegally.

The Municipal Corporation would give the completion certificate only if the illegal quarters were demolished. "But it is easier to bring down Pakistani bunkers across the Line of Control than these! And so, no Completion Certificate. As there is no Completion Certificate, no privatisation!"

Shourie calls the Planning Commission a parking lot - the whole purpose of the Planning Commission is as a dumping ground for people who are unwelcome as ministers or retired civil servants who refuse to go away.

Shourie's book though full of such humour in Government is actually a sad story of the state of affairs we are unfortunately put in by the most highly educated bureaucracy in the world!

For those of us who deal with tax matters, Shourie's book comes as a welcome relief that the babus of North Block and their jokes are after all as good as their counterparts in other departments.

Where does your petrol bill go?

If you pay around Rs. 38/- for a litre of petrol, about Rs.20/- goes to the state as taxes as the table here would show.

This information was given by Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 7th December 2004.

That means petrol is not all that expensive, only the state makes it so. Interestingly a litre of petrol costs around 0.53 Dollars in USA that is about 23 Rupees. While half a Dollar is a peanut for an American while forty rupees is quite a lot of money here.

Be wary of a strong drink - It'll make you shoot a tax collector - and miss

Until Tomorrow with more of DDT

Have a Nice Day